Does it matter if you curl with your arm in front or behind?
Comparison Between Shoulder Flexed and Extended Positions in Elbow Flexion Resistance Training on Regional Hypertrophy and Maximum Strength: Preacher versus Bayesian Cable Curls
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Two ways of doing bicep curls — one with your shoulder forward, one with your shoulder back — were tested to see if one builds bigger or stronger arms better.
No biological mechanisms were identified in this study. This may be an epidemiological, observational, or survey-based study that reports associations rather than proposing causal biological pathways.
Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
Max 100Randomized Controlled Trials
Max 90Cohort Studies
Max 72Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional Studies
Max 44Case Reports & Case Series
Max 30Expert Opinion & Narrative Reviews
Max 554 / 90
Evidence Score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. Considered the gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Two ways of doing bicep curls — one with your shoulder forward, one with your shoulder back — were tested to see if one builds bigger or stronger arms better.
No biological mechanisms were identified in this study. This may be an epidemiological, observational, or survey-based study that reports associations rather than proposing causal biological pathways.
Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
Max 100Randomized Controlled Trials
Max 90Cohort Studies
Max 72Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional Studies
Max 44Case Reports & Case Series
Max 30Expert Opinion & Narrative Reviews
Max 554 / 90
Evidence Score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. Considered the gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Publication
Authors
Attarieh P, Nunes JP, Khani S, Negahdar S, Goli A, Nazarirad H, Nazarirad S, Mojtahedi S, Nosaka K, Soori R
Related Content
Claims (10)
Doing more than a basic set of arm exercises and using more than one type of movement does not lead to noticeably greater muscle growth compared to a minimal routine.
Just because a study doesn’t find a clear difference in arm muscle growth between two curl types, it doesn’t mean there isn’t a real difference — the study might just be too small to catch it.
When the resistance is set to be equal at the beginning of the movement, both shoulder-extended cable curls and neutral-position barbell curls produce similar levels of muscle growth in the biceps.
If you use the same weight and do the same number of reps, it doesn't matter if you curl with your arm in front or behind you — what matters is just doing it consistently and getting stronger over time.
Doing bicep curls with your arm in front of your body or behind your body gives you the same muscle growth and strength gains if you're using the same amount of weight and doing the same number of reps.